Evaluation of the soil water balance in an alluvial flood plain with a shallow groundwater table

Abstract

Many of the hydrological and ecological functions of alluvial flood plains within watersheds depend on the water flow exchanges between the vadoze soil zone and the shallow groundwater. The water balance of the soil in the flood plain is investigated, in order to evaluate the main hydrological processes that underlie the temporal dynamics of soil moisture and groundwater levels. The soil moisture and the groundwater level in the flood plain were monitored continuously for a three-year period. These data were integrated with the results derived from applying a physically-based numerical model which simulated the variably-saturated vertical water flow in the soil. The analysis indicated that the simultaneous processes of lateral groundwater flow and the vertical recharge from the unsaturated zone caused the observed water table fluctuations. The importance of these flows in determining the rises in the water table varied, depending on soil moisture and groundwater depth before precipitation. The monitoring period included two hydrological years (September 2009–September 2011). About 13% of the precipitation vertically recharged the groundwater in the first year and about 50% in the second. The difference in the two recharge coefficients was in part due to the lower groundwater levels in the recharge season of the first hydrological year, compared to those observed in the second. In the latter year, the shallow groundwater increased the soil moisture in the unsaturated zone due to capillary rise, and so the mean hydraulic conductivity of the unsaturated soil was high. This moisture state of soil favoured a more efficient conversion of infiltrated precipitation into vertical groundwater recharge. The results show that groundwater dynamics in the flood plain are an important source of temporal variability in soil moisture and vertical recharge processes, and this variability must be properly taken into account when the water balance is investigated in shallow groundwater environments.

Citation Pirastru, M. and Niedda, M., 2013. Evaluation of the soil water balance in an alluvial flood plain with a shallow groundwater table. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (4), 898–911.     

The impact of climate change on groundwater recharge and runoff in a humid,equatorial catchment: sensitivity of projections to rainfall intensity

Abstract

Projected warming in equatorial Africa, accompanied by greater evaporation and more frequent heavy precipitation events, may have substantial but uncertain impacts on terrestrial hydrology. Quantitative analyses of climate change impacts on catchment hydrology require high-resolution (<50 km) climate data provided by regional climate models (RCMs). We apply validated precipitation and temperature data from the RCM PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impact Studies) to a semi-distributed soil moisture balance model (SMBM) in order to quantify the impacts of climate change on groundwater recharge and runoff in a medium-sized catchment (2098 km²) in the humid tropics of southwestern Uganda. The SMBM explicitly accounts for changes in soil moisture, and partitions effective precipitation into groundwater recharge and runoff. Under the A2 emissions scenario (2070–2100), climate projections from PRECIS feature not only rises in catchment precipitation and modelled potential evapotranspiration by 14% and 53%, respectively, but also increases in rainfall intensity. We show that the common application of the historical rainfall distribution using delta factors to the SMBM grossly underestimates groundwater recharge (i.e. 55% decrease relative to the baseline period of 1961–1990). By transforming the rainfall distribution to account for changes in rainfall intensity, we project increases in recharge and runoff of 53% and 137%, respectively, relative to the baseline period.     

Comparative performance of soil water balance models in computing semi-arid aquifer recharge

Abstract

Estimating groundwater recharge is essential to ensure the sustainable use of groundwater resources, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Soil water balances have been frequently advocated as valuable tools to estimate groundwater recharge. This article compares the performance of three soil water balance models (Hydrobal, Visual Balan v2.0 and Thornthwaite) in the Ventós-Castellar aquifer, Spain. The models were used to simulate wet and dry years. Recharge estimates were transformed into water table fluctuations by means of a lumped groundwater model. These, in turn, were calibrated against piezometric data. Overall, the Hydrobal model shows the best fit between observed and calculated levels (r² = 0.84), highlighting the role of soil moisture and vegetation in recharge processes.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor X. Chen

Citation Touhami, I., et al., 2014. Comparative performance of soil water balance models in computing semi-arid aquifer recharge. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (1), 193–203.     

Estimation of groundwater recharge using water balance model

The main purpose of this paper is to apply a water balance concept with two models in the Ching-Shui watershed to describe the groundwater recharge. First of all, a soil moisture budget model is established to estimate the infiltration, runoff, evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge in the watershed, where the moisture content of the soil is tracked through time. Secondly, the groundwater recharge was also estimated by the model of the base-flow-record estimation, with the assumption that groundwater evaporation is negligible. In addition, since the analyzed base-flow trends are high, when executing model analysis, the depths of infiltration estimated by stable-base-flow analysis is used to obtain more reasonable groundwater recharge value. The coefficients of groundwater recharge by the precipitation in the Ching-Shui watershed estimated from the established soil moisture budget model and the base-flow model were 12.40% and 9.92%, respectively. Comparison show the result of both models to be close.     

Infiltration-recharge through wadi beds in arid regions

Abstract

Groundwater recharge in arid regions is intermittent and usually occurs as a result of flood flow transmission losses in dry wadi channels. Hydrograph characteristics play a dominant role in determining the amount of channel abstraction in relation to the width of the wetted perimeter and the time of inundation, and the subsequent groundwater recharge. Large variations in the magnitude of channel losses result mainly from the diversity in inflow volumes. The magnitude of groundwater recharge in relation to bed transmission losses is dependent on flood volume and duration, soil moisture content and physical soil profile characteristics. Runoff volume and duration are the dominant factors influencing the cumulative infiltrated volume and recharge to shallow water tables. Taking into consideration the influence of various hydrological and channel characteristics, several regression equations are suggested to estimate the transmission losses from a wadi bed and the groundwater recharge.     

Water balance of a tropical woodland ecosystem, Northern Australia: a combination of micro-meteorological, soil physical and groundwater chemical approaches

A combination of micro-meteorological, soil physical and groundwater chemical methods enabled the water balance of a tropical eucalypt savanna ecosystem in Northern Australia to be estimated. Heat pulse and eddy correlation were used to determine overstory and total evapotranspiration, respectively. Measurements of soil water content, matric suction and water table variations were used to determine changes in soil moisture storage throughout the year. Groundwater dating with chlorofluorocarbons was used to estimate net groundwater recharge rates, and stream gauging was used to determine surface runoff. The wet season rainfall of 1585 mm is distributed as: evapotranspiration 810 mm, surface runoff (and shallow subsurface flow) into the river 410 mm, groundwater recharge 200 mm and increase in soil store 165 mm. Of the groundwater recharge, 160 mm enters the stream as baseflow in the wet season, 20 mm enters as baseflow in the dry season, and the balance (20 mm) is distributed to and used by minor vegetation types within the catchment or discharges to the sea. In the dry season, an evapotranspiration of 300 mm comprises 135 mm rainfall and 165 mm from the soil store. Because of the inherent errors of the different techniques, the water balance surplus (estimated at 20 mm) cannot be clearly distinguished from zero. It may also be as much as 140 mm. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such diverse methods have been combined to estimate all components of a catchment's water balance.     

Integrated surface water–groundwater modelling in the context of increasing water reserves of a regional Sahelian aquifer

Abstract

Despite the Sahelian drought of the 1970s–1990s, the unconfined aquifer in southwest Niger exhibits a multidecadal increase in groundwater reserves. Recent changes in land surface conditions have enhanced runoff and thus indirect groundwater recharge below endorheic ponds. This paper presents a model-based investigation of surface runoff and groundwater recharge at mesoscale (～5000 km²). A new lumped-conceptual runoff model applicable to the large number of ungauged endorheic catchments is specially developed, derived from an existing fine-scale, physically-based hydrologic model. Runoff simulated for sites identified as groundwater recharge sources are used to derive recharge forcing for a Modflow-based model of the aquifer. The rising water table trend and its spatial distribution over the period 1992–2003 are generally well simulated, albeit smoothed year-to-year dynamics. Comparison with alternative methods of recharge estimation suggests, however, that there may presently exist more recharging sites and/or contributing surfaces than those considered so far.

Citation Massuel, S., Cappelaere, B., Favreau, G., Leduc, C., Lebel, T. & Vischel, T. (2011) Integrated surface water–groundwater modelling in the context of increasing water reserves of a regional Sahelian aquifer. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(7), 1242–1264.     

Water balance simulation for resource evaluation at the catchment scale: application to the Nema (Sudano-Sahelian zone,Senegal)

Abstract

The Nema is a river in western Senegal where only a minority of inhabitants has access to drinking water. Rainfall has been decreasing in this region since the 1960s. It is crucial to understand how this change affects groundwater recharge. The objective of this research is to determine the current proportions of groundwater recharge, runoff, subsurface runoff and evapotranspiration using a simulation approach. The Nash criterion and water balance error were used to evaluate the quality of the simulations. The following results were obtained: the Nash criterion was 0.73 for calibration (0.73 for validation), and the water balance error was ?0.35% and 0.005%, respectively, for the hydrological years 1995/96 and 1997/98. Evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge are the main processes involved.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor D. Hughes     

A comparison of groundwater recharge estimation methods in a semi‐arid,coastal avocado and citrus orchard (Ventura County,California)

We assess the relative merits of application of the most commonly used field methods (soil‐water balance (SWB), chloride mass balance (CMB) and soil moisture monitoring (NP)) to determine recharge rates in micro‐irrigated and non‐irrigated areas of a semi‐arid coastal orchard located in a relatively complex geological environment. Application of the CMB method to estimate recharge rates was difficult owing to the unusually high, variable soil‐water chloride concentrations. In addition, contrary to that expected, the chloride concentration distribution at depths below the root zone in the non‐irrigated soil profiles was greater than that in the irrigated profiles. The CMB method severely underestimated recharge rates in the non‐irrigated areas when compared with the other methods, although the CMB method estimated recharge rates for the irrigated areas, that were similar to those from the other methods, ranging from 42 to 141 mm/year. The SWB method, constructed for a 15‐year period, provided insight into the recharge process being driven by winter rains rather than summer irrigation and indicated an average rate of 75 mm/year and 164 mm/year for the 1984 – 98 and 1996 – 98 periods, respectively. Assuming similar soil‐water holding capacity, these recharge rates applied to both irrigated and non‐irrigated areas. Use of the long period of record was important because it encompassed both drought and heavy rainfall years. Successful application of the SWB method, however, required considerable additional field measurements of orchard ET_c, soil‐water holding capacity and estimation of rainfall interception – runoff losses. Continuous soil moisture monitoring (NP) was necessary to identify both daily and seasonal seepage processes to corroborate the other recharge estimates. Measured recharge rates during the 1996 – 1998 period in both the orchards and non‐irrigated site averaged 180 mm/year. The pattern of soil profile drying during the summer irrigation season, followed by progressive wetting during the winter rainy season was observed in both irrigated and non‐irrigated soil profiles, confirming that groundwater recharge was rainfall driven and that micro‐irrigation did not ‘predispose’ the soil profile to excess rainfall recharge. The ability to make this recharge assessment, however, depended on making multiple field measurements associated with all three methods, suggesting that any one should not be used alone. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating groundwater recharge from water isotope (δ2H, δ18O) depth profiles in the Densu River basin,Ghana

Abstract

Accurate estimation of groundwater recharge is essential for the proper management of aquifers. A study of water isotope (δ²H, δ¹⁸O) depth profiles was carried out to estimate groundwater recharge in the Densu River basin in Ghana, at three chosen observation sites that differ in their altitude, geology, climate and vegetation. Water isotopes and water contents were analysed with depth to determine water flow in the unsaturated zone. The measured data showed isotope enrichment in the pore water near the soil surface due to evaporation. Seasonal variations in the isotope signal of the pore water were also observed to a depth of 2.75 m. Below that depth, the seasonal variation of the isotope signal was attenuated due to diffusion/dispersion and low water flow velocities. Groundwater recharge rates were determined by numerical modelling of the unsaturated water flow and water isotope transport. Different groundwater recharge rates were computed at the three observation sites and were found to vary between 94 and 182 mm/year (± max. 7%). Further, the approximate peak-shift method was applied to give information about groundwater recharge rates. Although this simple method neglects variations in flow conditions and only considers advective transport, it yielded mean groundwater recharge rates of 110–250 mm/year (± max. 30%), which were in the same order of magnitude as computed numerical modelling values. Integrating these site-specific groundwater recharge rates to the whole catchment indicates that more water is potentially renewed than consumed nowadays. With increases in population and irrigation, more clean water is required, and knowledge about groundwater recharge rates – essential for improving the groundwater management in the Densu River basin – can be easily obtained by measuring water isotope depth profiles and applying a simple peak-shift approach.

Citation Adomako, D., Maloszewski, P., Stumpp, C., Osae, S. & Akiti, T. T. (2010) Estimating groundwater recharge from water isotope (δ²H, δ¹⁸O) depth profiles in the Densu River basin, Ghana. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(8), 1405–1416.     

A combined methodology for estimating the potential natural aquifer recharge in an arid environment

ABSTRACT

An innovative methodology that combines an indirect physiography-based method for determining the runoff coefficient at a sub-basin scale and a water balance model applied on a daily time scale was developed to calculate the natural groundwater recharge in three watersheds within the Oum Zessar arid area, Tunisia. The effective infiltration was calculated as part of the water surplus by considering the average available water content (AWC) of soil and an average runoff coefficient for each sub-basin. The model indicates that the sub-basins covered mainly by the “artificial” soils of tabias and jessour, characterized by average AWC values greater than 150 mm, did not contribute to natural groundwater recharge over the 10-year period (2003–2012) considered. The estimated volume for the Triassic aquifer amounted to about 4.5 hm³ year^?1, which is consistent with previous studies. For the Jurassic and Cretaceous aquifers, the estimated volumes amounted to about 200 dm³ year^?1.     

Surface and subsurface water balance estimation by the groundwater recharge model and a 3-D two-phase flow model/Estimation de bilan hydrologique de surface et de subsurface à l’aide de modèles de recharge de nappe et d’écoulement diphasique 3-D

Abstract

Abstract Land development often results in adverse environmental impact for surface and subsurface water systems. For areas close to the coast, land changes may also result in seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers. Due to this, it is important to evaluate potential adverse effects in advance of any land development. For evaluation purposes a combined groundwater recharge model is proposed with a quasi three-dimensional unconfined groundwater flow equation. The catchment water balance for a planned new campus area of Kyushu University in southern Japan, was selected as a case study to test the model approach. Since most of the study area is covered with forest, the proposed groundwater recharge model considers rainfall interception by forest canopy. The results show that simulated groundwater and surface runoff agree well with observations. It is also shown that actual evapotranspiration, including rainfall interception by forest canopy, is well represented in the proposed simulation model. Several hydrological components such as direct surface runoff rate, groundwater spring flow rate to a ground depression, trans-basin groundwater flow etc., were also investigated.     

Field data and flow system response in clay (vertisol) shale terrain,north central Texas,USA

The water budget in clay shale terrain is controlled by a complex interaction between the vertisol soil layer, the underlying fractured rock, land use, topography, and seasonal trends in rainfall and evapotranspiration. Rainfall, runoff, lateral flow, soil moisture, and groundwater levels were monitored over an annual recharge cycle. Four phases of soil–aquifer response were noted over the study period: (1) dry‐season cracking of soils; (2) runoff initiation, lateral flow and aquifer recharge; (3) crack closure and down‐slope movement of subsurface water, with surface seepage; (4) a drying phase. Surface flow predominated within the watershed (25% of rainfall), but lateral flow through the soil zone continued for most of the year and contributed 11% of stream flow through surface seepage. Actual flow through the fractured shale makes up a small fraction of the water budget but does appear to influence surface seepage by its effect on valley‐bottom storage. When the valley soil storage is full, lateral flow exits onto the valley‐bottom surface as seasonal seeps. Well response varied with depth and hillslope position. FLOWTUBE model results and regional recharge estimates are consistent with an aquifer recharge of 1·6% of annual precipitation calculated from well heights and specific yield of the shale aquifer. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of varied complexity models simulating recharge at the field scale

Numerical models are frequently used for the regional quantification of groundwater recharge. However there is a wide range of potential models available that represent the land surface with varying degrees of complexity, but which are rarely tested against observations at the field scale. We compared four models that simulate potential recharge at four intensively monitored sites with different vegetation and soil types in two adjacent catchments. These models were: Penman–Grindley, UN Food and Agricultural Organization, SPAtial Distributed Evaporation and Joint UK Land Environment Simulator. Standardized, unoptimized land surface datasets and pertinent literature were used for parameterization to reflect practice in regional water resource management and planning in the UK. The models were validated against soil moisture observations at all sites, as well as observed transpiration and interception and calculated total evaporation over a year at a woodland site. Soil moisture observations were generally reproduced well, but there were significant differences in how the models apportioned precipitation through the hydrological cycle. This demonstrates that soil moisture data alone are not a good diagnostic for groundwater recharge models. Significant differences in potential recharge were produced by models at both grassland sites, although simulated average annual potential recharge varied by only 15% at the grassland site on permeable soil. At the woodland sites, soil moisture contents were reproduced least accurately, and there were large differences in potential recharge at both woodland sites. This predominantly resulted from varied and inaccurate simulation of evaporation, particularly in the form of interception losses where this was explicitly represented in models. Differences in model structure, such as runoff representation, and parameter selection also influenced all results. Hydrological Processes © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advantages and challenges of using soil water isotopes to assess groundwater recharge dominated by snowmelt at a field study located in Canada

Seasonal signals of stable isotopes in precipitation, combined with measurements of isotope ratios in soil water, can be used for quantitative estimation of groundwater recharge rates. This study investigates the applicability of using the piston flow principle and the peak shift displacement method to estimate actual groundwater recharge rates in a humid Nordic region located in the province of Quebec, Canada. Two different sites with and without vegetation (C1 and C2) in an unconfined aquifer were tested by measuring soil water isotope ratios (¹⁸O/¹⁶O and ²H/¹H) and volumetric pore water content. Core samples were obtained along the vadose zone down to the groundwater table at the two sites (2.45 m for Site C1 and 4.15 m for Site C2). The peak shift method to estimate groundwater recharge rates was shown to be accurate only in certain specific conditions inherent to the soil properties and the topographical situation of the investigated sites. Indeed, at Site C2, recharge from the snowmelt could not be estimated because of heterogeneity in the lower part of the vadose zone. At this same site the later recharge after the snowmelt (in the period from late spring to early autumn) could be estimated accurately because the upper part of the vadose zone was homogeneous. Furthermore, at site C1, runoff/runon phenomena hampered calculations of actual infiltration and thus produced inaccurate results for recharge. These two different site effects (heterogeneity in the first site and runoff/runon in the other site) were identified as being limiting factors in the accurate assessment of actual recharge. This study therefore recommends the use of the peak shift method for (1) humid Nordic regions, (2) homogeneous and thick vadose zones, and (3) areas with few or limited site effects (runoff/runon).     

Land-use comparison of depression-focussed groundwater recharge in the Canadian prairies

In the cold semiarid Canadian prairies, groundwater recharge is focussed under numerous topographic depressions, in which snowmelt runoff converges. Agricultural land uses on the uplands surrounding the depressions affect snow accumulation, snowmelt infiltration, evapotranspiration (ET) and soil moisture dynamics, thereby influencing snowmelt runoff and depression-focussed recharge. The objective of this study is to compare the differences in hydrological processes under two common land uses in the Canadian prairies, namely grazed grass and annual crop, and examine how they affect groundwater recharge. A short-term (3 years) paired catchment study was used for detailed observation of hydrological processes in two depressions, supplemented by a longer-term (17 years) data set covering a larger scale to quantify the differences in snowmelt runoff between the two land uses. Compared to the grazed grassland, the cropland had a shorter and more intense period of ET, and root water uptake restricted to the shallower (top 0–80 cm) soil zone. The amount of snowmelt runoff was greater in the grazed grassland primarily due to a higher amount of snow accumulation, which was dictated by differences in topography. This finding was contrary to previous studies in the Canadian prairies that indicated substantially smaller snowmelt runoff in ungrazed grassland, but was consistent with the larger-scale remote sensing results, which showed only a marginal difference between grazed grasslands and croplands. Groundwater recharge rates were estimated using the chloride mass balance method for the present condition using “modern” pore water containing tritium. The rates were similar between the grazed grassland and croplands, implying similarity in snowmelt runoff characteristics. These results suggest that groundwater recharge will continue to be focussed under depressions in the future, though the amount and seasonality of recharge may be influenced by warmer winters.     

Groundwater recharge in an arid grassland as indicated by soil chloride profile and multiple tracers

Previous studies have shown that shallow groundwater in arid regions is often not in equilibrium with near‐surface boundary conditions due to human activities and climate change. This is especially the case where the unsaturated zone is thick and recharge rate is limited. Under this nonequilibrium condition, the unsaturated zone solute profile plays an important role in estimating recent diffuse recharge in arid environments. This paper combines evaluation of the thick unsaturated zone with the saturated zone to investigate the groundwater recharge of a grassland in the arid western Ordos Basin, NW China, using the soil chloride profiles and multiple tracers (²H, ¹⁸O, ¹³C, ¹⁴C, and water chemistry) of groundwater. Whereas conventional water balance and Darcy flux measurements usually involve large errors in recharge estimations for arid areas, chloride mass balance has been widely and generally successfully used. The results show that the present diffuse recharge beneath the grassland is 0.11–0.32 mm/year, based on the chloride mass balance of seven soil profiles. The chloride accumulation age is approximately 2,500 years at a depth of 13 m in the unsaturated zone. The average Cl content in soil moisture in the upper 13 m of the unsaturated zone ranges from 2,842 to 7,856 mg/L, whereas the shallow groundwater Cl content ranges from 95 to 351 mg/L. The corrected ¹⁴C age of shallow groundwater ranges from 4,327 to 29,708 years. Stable isotopes show that the shallow groundwater is unrelated to modern precipitation. The shallow groundwater was recharged during the cold and wet phases of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene humid phase based on palaeoclimate, and consequently, the groundwater resources are nonrenewable. Due to the limited recharge rate and thick unsaturated zone, the present shallow groundwater has not been in hydraulic equilibrium with near‐surface boundary conditions in the past 2,500 years.     

Hydrological simulation of the Betwa River basin (India) using the SWAT model

A seasonal water budget analysis was carried out to quantify various components of the hydrological cycle using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for the Betwa River basin (43?500 km²) in central India. The model results were satisfactory in calibration and validation. The seasonal water budget analysis showed that about 90% of annual rainfall and 97% of annual runoff occurred in the monsoon season. A seasonal linear trend analysis was carried out to detect trends in the water balance components of the basin for the period 1973–2001. In the monsoon season, an increasing trend in rainfall and a decreasing trend in ET were observed; this resulted in an increasing trend in groundwater storage and surface runoff. The winter season followed almost the same pattern. A decreasing trend was observed in summer season rainfall. The study evokes the need for conservation structures in the study area to reduce monsoon runoff and conserve it for basin requirements in water-scarce seasons.

EDITOR Z.W. Kundzewicz

ASSOCIATE EDITOR F. Hattermann     

Evaluation of the Glugla method for estimating evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge

Abstract

Estimates of groundwater recharge are often needed for a variety of groundwater resource evaluation purposes. A method for estimating long-term groundwater recharge and actual evapotranspiration not known in the English literature is presented. The method uses long-term average annual precipitation, runoff, potential evaporation, and crop-yield information, and uses empirical parameter curves that depend on soil and crop types to determine long-term average annual groundwater recharge (GWR). The method is tested using historic lysimeter records from 10 lysimeters at Coshocton, Ohio, USA. Considering the coarse information required, the method provides good estimates of groundwater recharge and actual evapotranspiration, and is sensitive to a range of cropping and land-use conditions. Problems with practical application of the technique are mentioned, including the need for further testing using given parameter curves, and for incorporating parameters that describe current farming practices and other land uses. The method can be used for urban conditions, and can be incorporated into a GIS framework for rapid, large-area, spatially-distributed estimations of GWR. An example application of the method is given.     

Estimating water balance components in irrigated agriculture using a combined approach of soil moisture and energy balance monitoring,and numerical modelling

Information on water balance components such as evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge are crucial for water management. Due to differences in physical conditions, but also due to limited budgets, there is not one universal best practice, but a wide range of different methods with specific advantages and disadvantages. In this study, we propose an approach to quantify actual evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge and water inflow, i.e. precipitation and irrigation, that considers the specific conditions of irrigated agriculture in warm, arid environments. This approach does not require direct measurements of precipitation or irrigation quantities and is therefore suitable for sites with an uncertain data basis. For this purpose, we combine soil moisture and energy balance monitoring, remote sensing data analysis and numerical modelling using Hydrus. Energy balance data and routine weather data serve to estimate ET₀. Surface reflectance data from satellite images (Sentinel-2) are used to derive leaf area indices, which help to partition ET₀ into energy limited evaporation and transpiration. Subsequently, first approximations of water inflow are derived based on observed soil moisture changes. These inflow estimates are used in a series of forward simulations that produce initial estimates of drainage and ET_act, which in turn help improve the estimate of water inflow. Finally, the improved inflow estimates are incorporated into the model and then a parameter optimization is performed using the observed soil moisture as the reference figure. Forward simulations with calibrated soil parameters result in final estimates for ET_act and groundwater recharge. The presented method is applied to an agricultural test site with a crop rotation of cotton and wheat in Punjab, Pakistan. The final model results, with an RMSE of 2.2% in volumetric water content, suggest a cumulative ET_act and groundwater recharge of 769 and 297 mm over a period of 281 days, respectively. The total estimated water inflow accounts for 946 mm, of which 77% originates from irrigation.